


Tales of Love

by GH_123



Series: Prompt Requests [7]
Category: Hollyoaks
Genre: Best Friends, F/M, Friendship, M/M, Male-Female Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-06
Updated: 2019-05-06
Packaged: 2020-02-27 08:39:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18735502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GH_123/pseuds/GH_123
Summary: I’ve been feeling a little uninspired at the moment but came across this prompt a few weeks ago and got writing.Could I please request number 14 (“Just please be my best friend right now, not the guy I just confessed my love to”) from the list you just posted. Could it please be where James has a best friend (female) that confesses her love to him after they’ve had a drink. Like, she knows he’s gay and nothing could ever come of it but she’s totally in love with him.For this I’ve brought back Georgia from The Decision.Hope you all enjoy.





	Tales of Love

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve been feeling a little uninspired at the moment but came across this prompt a few weeks ago and got writing.
> 
> _Could I please request number 14 (“Just please be my best friend right now, not the guy I just confessed my love to”) from the list you just posted. Could it please be where James has a best friend (female) that confesses her love to him after they’ve had a drink. Like, she knows he’s gay and nothing could ever come of it but she’s totally in love with him._
> 
> For this I’ve brought back Georgia from The Decision. 
> 
> Hope you all enjoy.

**_ One _** __

Georgia breathed out a sigh of relief as she sat herself down in the chair at her desk, the stack of around forty English books that she had to mark, proudly claiming their place just to the left of her neatly, organised stationary. 

It was just approaching 4pm on a Friday afternoon, the children had piled out of school fifteen minutes ago, moaning about having to go outside in the current weather. The rain was hammering down hard, the drops hitting against the glass window and the rather unstable school roof echoing around her now empty classroom.

She was just into marking her third book, realising her expectations for the new year sevens were maybe a little too high, when there was a gentle knock at her door. 

“Come in” she called, not bothering to lift her head to see who was about to enter, she assumed it would be another colleague coming in to rant about the day that they had had or a student who had left something behind. Even when she heard the door creak open and close behind whoever had entered, she still didn’t raise her head from the book she was marking. 

“Must be an interesting read” she stopped instantly at the sound of his voice, she was pretty sure for a split second her heart stopped beating. Georgia’s whole body tingled as his soft tones brought back fond memories of a time that now seemed so long ago. She dropped the pen and quickly whipped her head up to see him standing just a few feet away.

Brody. Brody Hudson. Her ex boyfriend. 

“Hi” she cleared her throat and closed the book she was marking. “I don’t think it’s going to make the best sellers” she smiled as she placed the book onto the pile of the two she had previously marked. She was desperate to get a glimpse of her reflection, make she looked okay, presentable at least. She was always very into how she looked, but after a full days work she was sure her hair would be out of place and her mascara would be starting to wear off. 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to catch you off guard” it was almost as if he could read Georgia’s thoughts. “I was just swinging by to pick up the charity money” he explained. Both he and Damon had been recently fundraising for Maxine and Minnie, the community and the school had become heavily involved in this, with each class coming up with their own way of raising money for the charity. 

“Oh yeah” Georgia pulled open the small drawer at the top of her desk and pulled out the small envelope containing the cheque. “Here you go” she reached across to hand the envelope to Brody, as he accepted their fingers gently brushed against each other’s. It was the simplest of gestures, the simplest of form of physical contact, but Georgia felt something, a flood of electricity coursing its way round her veins. The small smile that spread across Brody's face told her that he must have felt something too. 

“Thank you” silence fell around them, despite this, it didn’t feel awkward or like there was a desperate need to fill the empty air. They had been together for two years, they had grown used to being in each other’s company, being around one another and simply doing nothing. “How have you been?” Brody asked, sinking down and sitting on one of the tables opposite her desk.

She had been wondering why Brody was still here, he had got what had had came for, there didn’t seem to be anything else, apart from his sudden attempt at making idle chit chat. 

“Good” she nodded. It wasn’t a completely lie, the split four months ago had really knocked the wind out of her sail, it had made her reevaluate her life. The future that she had allowed herself to plan in her head, the wedding; she knew it was going to be a big event filled with family and friends but she still wanted to keep it classic and traditional. The family that they would have some day, she had always pictured having two children, one little boy and one little girl, it was all very cliche and conventional. It had all come crashing down with a bang, the rug pulled from beneath her feet as she realised she was starting from scratch. “How are you?” she simply felt it polite to ask the question back. 

“Yeah I’m okay” he nodded. “Work is keeping me busy, y’know being there for Damon and Maxine and Si...” he trailed off unsure whether to mention her name or not, it had just been a slight slip of the tongue, he hadn’t intended anything by it at all. 

“It’s okay” Georgia assured him, he looked like one of the guilty children she was used to telling off at school, his face sunken and his lips pouting. “I had heard it....” there had been rumours that he was dating Sienna Blake, she hadn’t seen anything herself but she was hearing far too much of it for it just to be speculation. 

“I wanted to come and tell you” he defended quickly. “I did but...” hearing him confirm it was like a dagger to her heart. She couldn’t blame him, she wanted to but she knew that wasn’t fair. It had been four months and although that wasn’t quite long enough for her to move on, if he was ready, then there wasn’t a lot else she could do. She could get angry, cry and shout at him for being inconsiderate but that wouldn’t solve anything. 

“I guess word travels fast” she added with a hint of a smile to show him she was okay. She wasn’t okay. She was actually trying really hard to not cry in front of him, she swallowed down the hard lump in her throat.

“It’s early days” he shrugged. Four months apart from her hadn’t wiped his memory of the little things she did, he knew she was trying her hardest to keep it all together. He hoped that the early days comment would offer her some comfort knowing that it hadn’t been going on for months. They were only a few weeks in to this blossoming new romance. 

“You’re happy though?” he could see them now, the tear pooling at the back of her eyes, begging to be released. He found it a strange question to ask, Georgia wasn’t too sure herself why those words had left her lips, she just needed to know. 

“Yeah” he didn’t sound all that self assured, he didn’t seem like the confident guy that waltzed in here just a few moments ago. Maybe it was because he hated admitting to Georgia that he was happy without her or maybe it was simply a lie. “I should probably leave you to get on with this” he gestured to the pile of books that were still sitting on her desk. He jumped down from the table where he had been sitting in quite a dramatic fashion given the height. He had always been a show off. “Take care, yeah.”

“Yeah, you too” 

As soon as the door clicked shut behind him, she let out the breath that she had been holding and allowed a few tears, that were clouding her vision, to trickle down her face. 

**_ Two _** __

“I can’t do it” Harry spoke his voice panicked and breathless as he stood in the middle of James living room. James’ hands gripping on to Harry’s upper arms, it was the only way he could stop him from his frantic pacing. 

“Look at me” James’ voice was slightly louder than normal, but he needed to gain Harry’s attention. He knew what _‘I can’t do it’_ meant but he wasn’t ready to accept that yet. “Look at me” he told Harry again. 

Their eyes met and for brief moment it was like James was laying eyes upon him all over again, his heart thumping so fast in his chest as he was overcome with this sudden need for the man in front of him, the man he was still holding in his grip. 

“I can’t cancel the wedding” his voice was quiet and he could already feel his eyes burning with tears. This was it, there was no going back, no more messing James around. He was getting married in three days and he was definitely getting married. His arms felt cold as he felt James’ grip loosen on them before disappearing, until he eventually felt nothing. 

“You have to Harry, if you want us to be together you have to do this” James was trying to keep his temper, this was about fifth time they had been through this whole debacle. He was constantly making empty promises that James found himself believing every time. 

“I’ve tried. It’s not that easy”

“Well then try harder” James shouted, his voice ringing in Harry’s ears. Harry knew James’ anger was justified, after how he had been treating him recently he had no idea why he still desperately wanted to be with him. “You were in my bed last night” he shouted again gesturing dramatically with his arms in the direction of his bedroom. 

“I know” Harry lowered his head, staring down at the floor. James couldn’t see his face clear enough to read his expression. He wasn’t sure whether he was feeling guilty for what he was doing to Ste, shame at the sudden realisation of the situation he found himself in or hurt because ultimately, he was going to be another person in this mess that wouldn’t end up truly happy. “We can still be together though” he looked hopeful as he moved closer to James and took hold of his hand. “I still want you, I still want this” he cupped the side of James face with his hand. He wanted him to feel how much he loved him, he wanted him to know and really believe it. 

“Have you heard yourself” James seethed, removing himself from Harry’s touch as he took a few steps backwards. “You’re getting married Harry and yet you still want to carry this on” he was baffled as to how he even thought this was a good idea. Could he not see the damage he was doing? 

“I want to be with you” Harrys voice sounded weak, it was only now that James realised how much he had been diminishing himself, sinking himself down to Harry’s standard, allowing Harry to think that treating him like this was okay. That wasn’t the type of person he was. 

“Yet I’m still not enough” Harry looked at him, questioning why James still wasn’t understanding how much he meant to him. “You want to be with me but not enough to actually be with me, you’re still going to marry Ste in three days time” James exasperated, he was growing so frustrated with the situation he found himself in. 

Harry opened his mouth to speak, probably to say something that completely contradicted his actions, when his phone rang. He pulled the phone from his pocket and saw the name flash across the screen, a knowing glance between the pair told James that it was Ste, he gestured for Harry to answer it. 

James tried to drown out the conversation he could hear Harry having, he didn’t even have the decency to take the call into another room. James had actually become accustomed to hearing their conversations and Harry’s lies, normally as they were lying in bed together. It was almost as if Ste knew and wanted to ruin the moment. James was unsure how Ste didn’t know, the constant lies Harry told, he knew Ste wasn't the brightest button, but surely he couldn’t be that naive. 

“I...um...I need to go there’s been a problem with...” Harry stopped in his tracks when he realised he was about to reveal his wedding plans to James, he knew he had been heartless at times but he could at least realise that discussing the wedding with him was a little too much. 

“A problem with the wedding” James finished the sentence for him. “Well you should go then” James told him gesturing towards the door as he perched himself down on the arm of the sofa, he didn’t even wait for Harry’s response it was written all over his face. 

“Will you wait for me?” Harry asked as he moved closer to James, hesitant of the reaction he was going to get from him.

“Wait for what Harry? Another chance to be let down, another chance for you to disappoint me” 

“I’m sorry” he reached out and took hold of his hand, brining it to his lips and kissing the back of his knuckles. “I love you” he sighed. He didn’t want to let go of him, he didn’t want to leave.

“I love you too” James gave him a small, sad smile. “But we both know that isn’t enough” 

Harry disagreed completely, but he knew that now wasn’t the right time to argue or fight his corner or maybe now was exactly when he needed to. He knew James was tired of the whole situation and he sensed that he should probably now leave. 

“I love you” Harry said one last time squeezing the hand that he was holding. There had been a time when all James longed to hear were those words from him, he had heard them lots of over the past few days, almost far too much, almost as if it was some sort of validation for Harry. 

The front door slamming shut behind Harry broke James from his thoughts. The house suddenly felt incredibly quiet and now knowing that Harry was gone, potentially for good, he also felt incredibly empty. 

**_ Three _** __

“He just swanned in to my classroom looking all gorgeous and...” Georgia sighed, trailing off before taking a large gulp of wine from her glass. She had returned home around half an hour ago and she now found herself sprawled out on the sofa, her legs stretched out resting on James’ lap, as he too, unbeknown yet to Georgia, drowned his sorrows. 

After the break up Georgia had moved back in with James, the pair had been living together for years before she eventually moved out to be with Brody. There was something about being back here that just felt right, she knew that their lives would eventually lead them in different directions, with different people, but right now, being back in this house felt like coming home.

“I really want to hate him, but I just can’t” she sighed, feeling helpless. Brody was one of the good guys, he had a heart of gold and even now with him being her ex boyfriend, she couldn’t help but still feel nothing but love for him. 

“Harry was round here earlier” James revealed. Georgia knew there had been something bothering him, she could see the look written all over his face, his jaw was tense and his green eyes seemed to have lost their usual sparkle. She had known James for years, she knew that when he was like this it was best not to push him, eventually, if it was important enough he would come to her. “He’s going ahead with the wedding” he told her sadly, downing the last few drops of wine in her glass. 

“James” she sighed, she felt awful. She had been sat there for the best part of half an hour, rambling on about Brody. When he had suffered heart break a lot worse than her. She knew how much James adored Harry, she had watched him go through various relationships throughout the years, watched him learn to open up, let people in and understand that he could actually be loved as much as he loved them. He was a really kind and loving person underneath it all. Harry had totally stolen his heart, Georgia had never seen him as smitten or as happy with anyone else. 

The story of James and Harry was an incredibly complicated one, just as James had found someone that he genuinely cared about and saw a future with, it felt as if it was snatched away from him. He and Harry had overcome many obstacles together both as friends and as the couple that they had once been, but their biggest one yet was Ste and this wedding. 

“I’m so sorry” she swung her legs off of him and placed her feet on the floor. “You should have said something earlier, I wouldn’t have been rambling on about Brody if I’d have known” she fell back into the sofa, letting it cushion her for a few moments before turning and snuggling in to James’ side. 

“It’s okay, sometimes it’s just good to hear other people’s problems” he draped his arm around her and trailed his finger up and down her arm. “Makes you feel a little better about yours” he added. 

“Are you okay?” she asked, trying to look up at him from where she lay her head. “Like really okay?” 

“I will be” she could feel his chest moving as he took in a deep breath, if she listened carefully she was sure she could hear his heart beating. “Eventually” he sighed. “I was thinking of going away for a little bit, I don’t think I can cope being in the village when they do get married” he explained. It had been something that been playing on his mind ever since Harry had left. If he was in the village, he would somehow feel obliged to go, if he simply disappeared for a week or two then that obligation would be completely non existent. 

“I think you should go. Show him what he’s missing out on, what he’s left behind” Georgia sat up right and leaned forward to pour herself another glass. “I’d come with you.”

“I’m not sure” James crinkled his face at the thought and Georgia knew that if his mind was already made up then there would be absolutely no point in trying to sway his decision. 

“Do you know what we need?” the bright smile that had found his way on to her face accompanied by the cheeky twinkle in her eye made James feel a little uneasy. “A night out” she told him as she patted his thigh. “It’s been ages” once upon a time, she and James were always out, partying and drinking until three in the morning. It was safe to say they had grown up a lot since then. 

“Oh I don’t know”

“Come on. For old times sake” she gave him a gentle nudge, hoping it would ignite something from long ago. “We both need cheering up, what better way of doing it than with your best friend and copious amounts of alcohol” she tried to win him round and seeing the smile that suddenly appeared on his face told her she had. 

***

They stumbled out of the loft at a little after 2am. They had spent the whole evening in each others company, accompanied with numerous bottles of champagne, copious amounts of cocktails and as the night drew to a close Georgia demanded that they do a few shots. 

“Whoah, careful” James reached out and grabbed hold of Georgia’s waist pulling her back, she looked as if she was about to go hurtling down the stairs. James knew that ‘The Loft’ was a niche selling point but having this huge staircase to walk down after consuming your body weight in alcohol wasn’t safe for anybody. 

Georgia had come off the night much worse than him, he was still absolutely hammered, his vision slightly blurry and he was unsure whether most of what he was saying was making sense, but he wasn’t quite at Georgia’s level. She was a fun drunk to be around, at times, she would get a little emotional, but tonight she was fun. 

“Hold on to me, okay” James warned her as they started their journey down the metal staircase, she gripped his arm tightly, the stairs when she looked down seemed to be moving, she was trying her hardest to follow his lead. 

“Ah” he heard her cry out as there was a sudden clang, he could still feel her holding on to him, confirming that she hadn’t fallen over. “James, my shoe is stuck” she laughed trying her hardest to get her words out. 

“Oh my god” he rolled his eyes, looking down to see that the heel of her shoe had slipped through one of the holes. “Can you not just lift it out?” he asked.

“No, look” she tried to move her foot but all it did was rattle the staircase. James sighed and crouched down, he placed a hand on her ankle and tried to lift it out himself, he was using quite a force, he was worried about hurting Georgia but all she was doing was laughing, uncontrollably laughing. “What am I going to do. We can’t get it out” she asked. 

Thankfully, the rain had stopped from earlier but the wind was now starting to pick up, a huge gust blew over them, forcing Georgia to cling on to the railings and puff her long blonde hair from out of her face as a sudden chill ran up and down her body. 

“You’re going to have to take it off” James announced. Georgia didn’t protest, he was sure sober Georgia would have definitely stood her ground. He helped lower her on to the step above as he helped her out of her shoe, now that Georgia was no longer in the shoe, he could pull it out with a little more force, eventually freeing it from its spot. 

“You’re such a good friend” she slurred, he looked up at her from his crouched position and smiled. 

“I know” he smiled. “Come on, let’s get you up” he stood to his feet and held out his hands ready to pull her up from her slumped position. 

She returned to clinging on to him and hopping on one foot down the rest of the stairs until they reached the bottom, eventually settling on one of the benches where the shoe was rightfully returned to her foot. 

“You look freezing” James commented after another gust of wind swept by them. 

“That’s because I am” her teeth were chattering and her little black dress was adding zero warmth to her body. Before she knew it James had whipped off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders. He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her into his chest, rubbing her arm in a bid to keep her warm. “I love you” she mumbled, he was sure she was close to falling asleep.

“I love you too” he told her as he placed a kiss on the side of her forehead.

“No, I mean it” she leaned away from him and placed a hand to his chest, his arm still loosely draped over her. “I really love you, like I’m properly, _in_ love you” she admitted in her drunken state. 

James and Georgia loved each other dearly, there had been times in their lives where it was the two of them against the world. She had been his rock on more than one occasion and no matter what, he could always guarantee that she would have his back. He loved her. They loved each other, but her sudden revelation that she was _in_ love with him, completely took him by surprise and made him sober up fairly quickly.

“Okay” James announced, clapping his hands together. “I think someone needs to get home” he rose to his feet and held out his hands once again to Georgia. 

*** 

“You know, you’re about the only person I would do this for” James told Georgia as they sat on a bench just few metres away from their home. He looked down at the bag of chips in Georgia’s lap with a hint of disgust. The walk home was mostly silent, after Georgias revelation, except her whining about needing food. They had stopped off at the local kebab shop where James had ordered her chips and picked up a much needed bottle of water. 

“Thanks” she smiled. The walk, food and water seemed to be sobering her up and she was becoming very much aware of what she had said to James. “I’m sorry about..” she was still very tipsy, James could hear it in her voice, but he knew this part of the night she would remember in the morning. “My head is such a mess at the moment and you’ve just always been there and... why did you have to be gay” she sighed eventually making her point. 

“Sorry” James sighed, holding his hands up in mock defeat. 

“Look can we just forget any of this happened” she asked hopefully as she popped a chip into her mouth. “Can you just please be my best friend and not the guy I just confessed my love to” she felt embarrassed saying those words out loud. 

“I have no idea what you’re talking about” James smiled as he reached over for a chip. Georgia reciprocated his smile and placed her head onto his shoulder, she was so tired, despite how cold it was she was sure she could easily fall fast asleep. 

“Thank you” she managed to mumble through her tiredness, she really was so grateful for how understanding he was being. 

“If it’s any consolation, if I was straight, I’d snap up a girl like you right away”

**Author's Note:**

> As always, thank you so much reading!
> 
> Please leave comments and prompt requests if you have any.


End file.
